The present invention relates to tombstones and monuments, and more particularly to tombstones and monuments manufactured from an organic polymer, and anchoring systems for such tombstones.
Traditional tombstones are manufactured of granite or marble. These stone monuments are costly to the consumer for a variety of reasons. As a result, some people cannot purchase a tombstone of the size and shape that they desire, and in some cases, cannot afford to purchase a monument at all. Thus, the high cost of stone monuments impedes a descendant's survivors' ability to adequately mark the decedent's burial site.
One factor which contributes significantly to the high cost of stone monuments is their weight. These heavy monuments are difficult to transport. The difficulty exists both in transporting stones from a mine to the monument company, as well as in transporting tombstones from the tombstone company to a cemetery. The trucks utilized to haul stone monuments are costly and may carry only a limited number of these monuments due to the weight of the monuments. Trucks which carry a large number of stone monuments are also harmful to the roads on which they travel because of the great weight of the monument laden truck. The limited number of monuments that a truck can carry increases the shipping costs of these monuments.
Installation is also difficult and costly due to the weight of stone monuments. Heavy equipment must be used to lift the monuments from a truck to a burial site. Additionally, large concrete foundations may be required to support a heavy monument so that it does not settle into an unstable, leaning position.
Another problem with traditional monuments is that they are constructed from mined material. Mining is costly and produces dust and other pollutants which are difficult to control. Additionally, mines are unattractive to residents of neighboring residential areas.
Another disadvantage of stone monuments is the large time period required for a manufacturer to deliver the engraved marker. This large time period is partially a result of the time necessary to manufacture the monument from stone and write an inscription into the stone. Tombstones may take several months or more to manufacture and ship to a burial site. Furthermore, if an error is made while inscribing a monument, the engraver must begin again. This adds significant expense since the tombstone is ruined if the inscription is wrong.
In addition, previously known stone or granite monuments are normally made in two pieces, including a monument portion where the decedent's name or other inscription is normally placed, as well as a separate base portion on which the monument is supported. At the cemetery, these two pieces must be bonded or secured together. However, after lengthy exposure to the weather, normal settling of the ground and the like, these two portions often separate, resulting in the necessity and cost of rebonding or reattachment to maintain the stone monument in appropriate condition.
Further, attempts have been made to avoid various of the above problems by using synthetic or manufactured monuments. Some synthetic monuments use a hollow, plastic shell and some having such a hollow shell are filled with cement or other heavy materials. If filled with cement, such filling was required at the cemetery, requiring caretakers to build forms to exacting specifications matching the shell, mixing and pouring of the cement, followed by lengthy time periods to allow the cement to set up. Thereafter, the form would be removed, the monument set upright and the outer shell slipped over the formed cement and fastened with screws which required the drilling of holes in the shell and in the cement. Optionally, the hollow shell could be turned upsidedown and filled with cement which, after set up, could be returned to the upright position for placement. In either event, these methods proved time consuming, costly, and less than adequately weather resistant since the hollow shells filled with cement would form moisture at the interface between the plastic shell and cement. Such moisture would freeze in lower temperatures resulting in cracking and degradation of the monument.
In addition, many of the prior known synthetic monuments had an artificial appearance which tended to show scratches and other imperfections and reduce the desirability of the monument from an aesthetic standpoint.
Accordingly, a tombstone or monument was desired which is lightweight and easy to manufacture on a rapid and repeatable basis, but has the appearance, durability and secure mounting of traditional stone or granite monuments. Although a variety of tombstones have been developed which are manufactured in a manner which overcomes some of the disadvantages of traditional stone monuments noted above, known alternatives do not adequately solve the above-noted problems. Known alternatives to stone monuments do not have sufficient permanence, and do not adequately resemble stone monuments. Additionally, the mounting method for securing these alternatives are difficult and costly to implement.